At age 12, Dana Vollmer was the youngest swimmer at the 2000 Olympic Trials. At 16, she won gold as a 800m freestyle relay team member in Athens, breaking a 17-year-old world record. It seemed Dana was on the path to swimming superstardom.

Expectations were tremendous for her at the 2008 Olympic Trials. A self-described nervous wreck, she didn’t qualify for the team. Afterwards she took time to figure out if and how she could continue in her beloved sport.

Putting some distance between herself and what happened in Omaha helped her refocus and reenergize her commitment to swimming with outstanding results.

“A lot of it was a switch in the mentality from where I started in 2008 and not making the team,” Dana said. “There was so much pressure on me. I made (swimming) about so much more than just racing. Now, I’ve made it about having fun instead of trying to be all of these things to other people.”

“I want to keep swimming as long as I can continue to improve and get faster.”